Marquess of Lansdowne

Governor-General of India from 1888 to 1894. 1888 – 1894 Signed letter to Begum from the Marquess of Bhopal of Lansdowne, Governor-General of India Handwritten letter Marquess of Lansdowne, Governor-General of India from 1888 to 1894. A handwritten letter, written in sumptuous calligraphy by a delicate secretary, on his two pages of viceroyal paper, embossed in gold with the royal coat of arms. This is supposedly the first letter announcing the arrival of the Viceroy in India, addressed from Bhopal announcing the arrival of the Viceroy in India to his recipient Nawabsha His Highness Jahan (G.C.S.I., C.I.) . Signed by Lansdowne and dated from Calcutta on December 29, 1888. It begins with my esteemed friend, congratulating Your Highness on agreeing to your appointment as Minister with your predecessor, Lord Dufferin. Advisory appointments have always been a touchy subject in Bhopal. Especially since it was often associated with particularly thorny issues of marriage and inheritance in this state, the only state in India with a female ruler. The paper has the usual pinholes along the edge of the gutter punched into the binder. Lord and Mrs. Lansdowne develop a very strong relationship with Begum. "Shahjahan Begum GCSI CI ( 1838 – 1901) was the Begum of Bhopal (the ruler of the Islamic principality of Bhopal in central India) for two periods: 1844–60 (her mother acting as regent), and secondly during 1868–1901."

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